Civil Procedure

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Diplomat Property Manager, LLC v. FortiFi Financial, Inc. — Recording PACE Liens Is Not Protected Anti-SLAPP Activity, and Fraud Claims Do Not Arise from Later Receivership Litigation

automatic / October 21, 2026

The Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of FortiFi's anti-SLAPP motion, holding that recording PACE assessment liens is not protected prelitigation activity and that Diplomat's fraud-based claims do not arise from FortiFi's later litigation conduct in a receivership action.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Personal Injury & Tort

John Doe N.K. v. Palm Springs Unified School District — School District Not Liable for 1978 Teacher Abuse Where No Supervisor Knew or Should Have Known of the Danger

automatic / October 21, 2026

The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for a school district on negligent hiring, supervision and retention claims over a teacher's 1978–1979 sexual abuse of a student, holding that the plaintiff offered no evidence that district supervisors knew or should have known of the danger and that the district's lack of 40-year-old records did not create a triable issue.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Litigation

United States v. Mumma — Ninth Circuit affirms conviction and forfeiture for hidden-camera exploitation of a minor but vacates restitution over a $2,500 error

automatic / October 20, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld the indictment and a $160,000 forfeiture money judgment against Todd Mumma, holding any Rule 32.2 jury-inquiry error harmless, but vacated the restitution order and remanded to correct a $2,500 arithmetic error.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law

United States v. Anderson — Ninth Circuit Requires an Evidentiary Hearing When Sworn Accounts Conflict on Whether a Defendant Told Counsel to Appeal

automatic / October 19, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that a district court abused its discretion by denying a § 2255 motion without a hearing where the movant and his trial counsel gave conflicting sworn accounts of whether he directed counsel to appeal.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Whitfield v. Mullin — Ninth Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing, Leaving Its “Serious Questions” Injunction Test in Place Over Ten Dissenting Votes

automatic / October 16, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing en banc in a Rehabilitation Act case, leaving in place a panel remand that invokes the circuit's "serious questions" sliding-scale injunction test, while ten judges dissented on the ground that the test conflicts with Winter and Starbucks.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

Sterndahl v. Sterndahl — Interim Spousal-Support Ruling Was Not Appealable

automatic / October 15, 2026

The Second District dismissed an appeal from a temporary-support ruling because the trial court retained power to revise the award retroactively.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law

People v. Superior Court (Garcia) — Indicated-Sentence Plea Is Subject to a Section 170.6 Challenge

automatic / October 13, 2026

The trial court’s dismissal of a prior strike allegation and acceptance of a defendant’s guilty plea following an indicated sentence is subject to a motion to disqualify under section 170.6.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

K.R. v. Superior Court — Later Removal Did Not Restart Reunification Clock

automatic / October 12, 2026

The Fourth District held that a later section 387 removal does not restart reunification when the children were already removed at the initial disposition.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Superior Court (Davis) — Racial Justice Act Discovery Required Case-Specific Evidence

automatic / October 12, 2026

The Fourth District required case-specific comparators and reliable, relevant statistics to establish good cause for Racial Justice Act discovery.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Personal Injury & Tort

Fanuc Corporation v. Superior Court of San Bernardino County — The Court of Appeal granted the writ, reversing the trial court’s denial of the motion to quash

automatic / October 9, 2026

This decision reinforces the strict limits Daimler and Ford place on personal jurisdiction over foreign manufacturers in California.

5th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Insurance Law

People v. North River Insurance Co. — Bail-bond judgment may be entered in the criminal case

automatic / October 9, 2026

The Court of Appeal affirmed the summary judgment enforcing the forfeited bond.

5th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Martinez v. Contreras — Juror discussions of wealth and insurance support a new trial

automatic / October 9, 2026

The published Court of Appeal opinion affirmed the order granting a new trial; it did not reinstate or increase the original verdict.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Weston v. Department of Transportation — Complaint Cannot Materially Depart from Government Claim

automatic / September 29, 2026

A complaint against a public entity cannot proceed on materially different facts from those fairly disclosed in the claimant's administrative claim.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Litigation

Washington v. Crown Resources — Private Clean Water Act Settlement Does Not Preclude State’s Separate Suit

automatic / September 28, 2026

A private Clean Water Act consent decree did not preclude Washington's separate suit because the State was neither a party nor in privity with the settling group.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Edwards v. Brown — Oregon Limitations Period Tolls During Mandatory Prison Grievance Process

automatic / September 28, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Oregon's limitations period for a prisoner's section 1983 claim tolls while mandatory grievance exhaustion is underway.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Litigation

United States v. Burton — False Claims Act Military Bar Does Not Permit Immediate Appeal

automatic / September 28, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that denial of the False Claims Act's military service-member bar is not an immediately appealable collateral order.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Nolen v. PeopleConnect, Inc. — Class Certification Upheld for Yearbook Publicity Claims

automatic / September 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld damages and injunctive classes alleging that Classmates.com used yearbook names without consent under California’s right-of-publicity statute.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law

Ridings v. PeaceHealth — Religious-Accommodation Complaint Should Have Included Exemption Letter

automatic / September 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit revived a nurse’s religious-accommodation suit because her exemption letter was central to the complaint and made the asserted conflict plausible.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Childs v. San Diego Family Housing — Military Housing Mold Suit Returns to State Court

automatic / September 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that private managers of San Diego military housing failed to establish federal enclave, federal officer, or federal agency jurisdiction.

5th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Litigation

Department of Fish and Wildlife v. Superior Court — Local governments may keep suit against the state in their home county

automatic / September 23, 2026

The Fifth District held that Government Code section 955.3 overrides the general neutral-county venue rule when a local agency sues the State of California.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation

Wilson v. Johnson — Swearing a Prospective Jury Panel Starts Trial Before the Five-Year Deadline

automatic / September 22, 2026

A sworn prospective-juror panel brings a California civil case to trial for purposes of the five-year dismissal rule, even before attorney voir dire begins.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Montes v. Superior Court — Prosecutors bear the burden to justify withholding jury-selection notes

automatic / September 21, 2026

A defendant may obtain prosecution jury-selection notes in postconviction discovery without first making a prima facie showing of racial bias.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Immigration

Padilla v. ICE — Asylum seekers apprehended away from the border may pursue detention due-process claims

automatic / September 21, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that asylum seekers apprehended away from the border may pursue a due-process challenge to mandatory detention without bond hearings.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Family Law

Irvine v. Irvine — A pending criminal case did not automatically require delaying a domestic-violence restraining-order hearing

automatic / September 18, 2026

A DVRO respondent facing related criminal charges is not automatically entitled to a continuance; courts must balance self-incrimination concerns against safety, delay, and statutory objectives.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Collections & Creditor Rights, Criminal Law

People v. Bankers Insurance Co. — Bail exoneration could remain conditioned on later-calculated extradition costs

automatic / September 18, 2026

A court may exonerate a bail bond subject to later-calculated extradition costs, and the expiration of the appearance period does not erase that reimbursement condition.